


[OLD-UNFINISHED] New Regime

by cathodereytube



Category: RWBY
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-21
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-26 11:41:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2650724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathodereytube/pseuds/cathodereytube
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby takes a walk and tries not to murder anyone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Shoulders slumped, head down, no eye contact._

_Don't show your training;  
don't fall back into old habits._

This grey uniform is  
designed to be a practical daily use work outfit during the expansion. What it really did was to help to stifle individuality, but for her it worked perfectly to hide herself. Ever since the shutdown she hadn't seen any other  
members of her team and she probably wouldn't be able to recognize them in the crowd.

Ruby Rose walked, following the stream of people headed for the next shift on the outside. Being stuck in large crowds used to be a small worry of hers, but now they provided a  
strange comfort. It was easy to get lost in the uniform movement, the sound of  
the marching. Before, she would have thought of this as a terrible location to  
be, in the middle of a crowd there was no room for crescent rose to be  
effective. But it’s not like she had a choice anyways. Ruby hadn't seen her beloved  
weapon since the last day. She remembered it clearly enough though.

“We’re boned.”

“We are NOT boned!”

“I agree.”

“With whom?”

“Ask me again in a few minutes.”

A few minutes later, they were a few bruises more, but boning was not a thing that happened, to them at least. The Grimm resembled a large pile of leaves facing a pair of Halloween-candy high toddlers after a particularly windy afternoon. Yang took out a small bottle and poured it on her gauntlets, cleaning them of any extra gunk and guts from the fight. Blake stretched and reached down to Ruby, who took her hand eagerly, wanting to get weight off of that shoulder.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Weiss said, glancing over at the team leader.

“My aura should heal it. I’m fine, I promise.” She crossed her heart and let go of Blake to stand on her own.  The cut had hurt, but she wanted to look strong. Weiss sighed and took out a map and her scroll, marking on the map and making a call simultaneously.

“Jaune, hello?” A faint voice could be heard, which Weiss quickly cut off. “Jaune listen. We cleared area C but Ruby took a hit, we cannot finish our route today. We’ll come back some other time.” She paused, letting the boy talk. “Okay, we’re waiting.” She hung up, souding annoyed. “Evac is on its way.”

“What was dispatch boy rambling about anyway? Injuries aren’t exactly uncommon.” Yang tossed the water to Weiss.

“Some sort of political trouble or something. I’ll look into it later, right now I’m too tired.” Weis yawned.

 

A bit of idling and a air ride later, they were back to Beacon. Ruby hopped onto the ground and immediately noticed a change. It wasn’t an outward change in appearance, something just felt off, as if someone had ripped open the curtain and let the light in on a long abandoned house. As they walked, Blake came up behind her and leaned down to whisper.

“Does everyone seem worried to you?” Ruby nodded gravely. Yang came up behind them, resting her hands on each of their shoulders.

“Let’s go back to the dorms.” Collectively they quickened their pace, Ruby grabbing onto Weiss, who was buried in some article on her scroll. Once Safely inside Ruby poked at Weiss again.

“What’s happening?”

“Ironwood did it. He has been given total political and military control of Vale.” She said; her voice and face devoid of emotion. She could have just as easily been giving the lunch schedule. Ruby didn’t really understand what that meant. Ironwood seemed nice, if a bit malevolent. “His political play worked and he has control over Vale’s resources.” Looking back, it shouldn’t have been a surprise though. After the Festival he had been getting more and more power, but total control seemed like some messed up conspiracy theory.

“He’s the guy who helped with penny right? That means he can’t be all bad.” She tried to make light of the situation.

“It wouldn’t be bad if he wasn’t so… trigger happy.” Yang spoke with uncharacteristic softness. It was a tone that Ruby heard her use on kids. Surprisingly, Blake was the next one to speak.

“Vale has a booming economy, right?” She received a nod from Weiss. “I can’t imagine that they’re happy about the change, Vale is pampered compared to a lot of the other kingdoms. I can’t imagine people are going to be too happy about losing so much luxury.” Weiss finished the circle of speech; Scroll extended towards the three, flashing images of protests playing on the screen.

“They’re not. People are already organizing against the new leadership. Tensions are high and most likely Ironwood will respond with a show of force.” She paused. “That force would probably be us. Huntsmen are extremely valuable, but respected and even revered as heroes.Putting a few in danger will help to calm the people down and if it doesn’t, it isn’t one of his men that gets lost.” The looks on the faces of her teammates probably showed their shock, so Weiss backtracked. “Probably…” and then even quieter “It’s what I would do.”

Ruby was shaken from the memory by the shuffling of the crowd in front of her; i.d. being taken out, gloves off, ready for the blood tests. Near the expansion gate she pulled out a small bag of blood to fool the scanner and slipped it up the long sleeve of the uniform. The crowd thinned into a manageable line, people passing through the checkpoints easily. Ruby wringed her glove in her hand, ready, yet apprehensive to complete her task; the weeks of preparation and planning about to pay off. Beyond the gate laid the hardest part of her walk, the military complex, but beyond that was freedom.

Green Fields, Trees and hopefully the rest of team RWBY. When things had first started, a few short months ago, Blake had mentioned that they could always go to the nomadic clans outside of the protection of the kingdoms. Now she was so close. Her hand tightened on the dagger hidden on her belt, ready for trouble if any of the guards decided to search her. In essence it was the same as killing Grimm, but in reality it was something else entirely. She would have to be quick, stopping the guard from making noise. Puncturing the lung would do the trick. If anyone saw her, her semblance would be a good escape, despite its use ending any illusion as to her identity.

Three months earlier, when Pyhrra, the remaining members of team CFVY and she were staying with Jones, he had given them the daggers.

“This is, well this is my thanks for before. I don’t want to owe you when you leave, so please accept these knifes. They’re made from remnants of Beacon. I, uh, managed to snatch them when I was sent there on work duty.” He handed them the blades; each being slightly different. Ruby’s was about five inches long, made from what were probably girders, with white glass set in the handle.

Ruby ran her thumb against the cold glass, the curves comfortable in your hand. She had survived this long, a few more minutes was all that was left. She had gotten past the tests, through the gate with the guards looking down on everyone, looking for someone exactly like her. One soldier walked by, looking through the  pale mask, at faces, at her face. If he pulled her aside, then it was simple. Play innocent until he had gotten you somewhere away from everyone. She would have to move fast. Move fast and don’t think. Don’t think about how he might have a family, don’t think about yourself, don’t think, just survive. Don’t think, don’t think, don’t think. He was right next to her now. She could see his face behind the mask, the gaunt way his cheekbones stuck out; he was just as underfed as all of them. He was one of them. He was one of the people she had wanted desperately to protect, to help. But now she couldn’t think. Couldn’t bring herself to consider any other option. She had to live. Don’t think, just act.

She had acted suddenly before. When she thought that wounds would heal with magic she didn’t understand and that the monsters were the only threat. Even When It had been people she’d fought, it was for someone else, and that was before. Before the riots, before the “war” before Jones. Not long after they met, he had said something to her that she wouldn’t soon forget.

“You were always about show, the huntsmen. Never really for ending the Grimm. You fight too flashy to be in wars, so you’re stuck against the monsters under the bed. Remnant relied on you to swoop in and save the day, but all you really did was cover the danger. Huntsmen were the Parent who never checked under the bed, just told the crying kid they would protect them.” Ruby wasn’t a hero now. She was just afraid.

The guard walked past, never once glancing at her.

Ruby slipped past the last barrier and into the once green fields, now black and charred. People were busy at work; clearing trees and setting up temporary camps so that the real work could begin. The only armed guards out this far weren’t focused on the people; they were looking out into the woods. She picked up a wooden plank and snuck up behind one of the guards. This was the crucial part. If anyone saw her she would probably die.

“Quickly.” She lunged. Pyhrra blocked it easily. Even with a new weapon, she was a prodigy. Ruby had been struggling though. The new form of combat was hard to learn after having such broad swings with Crescent Rose; she just couldn’t do it. They had been trying for an hour already, and Ruby had yet to land a single hit on the older girl. “You’re moving with too much force. You can’t keep your arms that wide. Move lighter. Don’t strike head on, look for an angle” Pyhrra had been giving different advice, but it only meant one thing. You would be dead. “Why don’t we just take a break? You might just need time to process what you’ve learned.” Pyhrra stepped back and sat down. Ruby just stayed quiet. At this point there was nothing she could do except keep trying, but trying wasted energy and energy required food. Food they didn’t have. Jones had been working hard, and everyone was grateful, but one person’s wages couldn’t support five stomachs. “It’s like dancing; you have to move light on your feet, but with sure moves.”

“I can’t dance.” Ruby confessed.

“But at the dance…”

“I was busy fighting Cinder, remember?”

“Of course; I’d forgotten.”

“mm…”She paused. “Wonder what happened to her?”

“Does it even matter?” A voice came from the corner. Pyhrra nodded in agreement. They were probably right, reminiscing about before wasn’t much fun.

Later after the others had gone to sleep, Pyhrra poked ruby awake.

“Ruby, are you still awake?” Ruby sat up and nodded. “Would you like me to teach you how to dance?” Again Ruby nodded, not speaking verbally. This seemed to bother Pyhrra, and she stumbled with her normally carefully constructed words. After a few false starts she carefully spoke again. “Then we should start…”

Ruby swung the plank, an old feeling coming back into her hands as she swung, hitting the guard squarely in the back of the head. He fell heavily and hit his head again on the ground. Ruby knelt and dragged him into the nearest bush, taking his gun and bullets off of their clips. At last it was time to start. She took off at a sprint, heading towards the tree line. Immediately the air seemed cleaner, the sound changed; voices fading into the background.


	2. Chapter 2

She ran; bursting through the trees like she hadn't in a long time, running out the kinks, feeling muscles tense. Her breathing and footprints echoed in her ears, the only sound in this peaceful place. She wasn't running in fear, wasn't running away. She was running towards the closest thing left to home.

Even after tiring, Ruby kept pushing herself, the quiet but growing thought forming in the back of her mind.

"Stop and you'll never get there." It was irrational but scary.

“Never. Never.” Her clothes were soaked in sweat, “Never get there.” loose leaves sticking to her coat. The thought of the waiting trio was keeping her legs pumping more than her muscles, their last words ingrained into her skull.

"Ruby! Run!" Yang.

"I can handle this! Go find help!" Weiss.

"I'm sorry." Blake.

After the powwow in the RWBY dorms, they had gone to JNPR’s room. They sat in a semi circle, Weiss explaining the situation to the others. It was spoken like simple gossip, but underneath, there was a dark tone. They had been sitting in relative silence when the first airships arrived, great metal hulls casting a shadow into the room. Pyhrra only talked about that day once, months later.

“I think that was it for Jaune. I think it was his snap.”

“Pyhrra…”

“It’s just been stuck in my mind. When did it start, who did it start with? I should have known it was Jaune. I should have helped him more, I should have focused more on training his aura, I should have-“ Ruby was about to move to stop Pyhrra when someone else did it for her.

“You didn’t.”

Pyhrra had tried to leave. She tried to drown it all out, she tried moving on, but she was never able to shake the feeling that she was responsible.

But Pyhrra hadn’t seen what happened.

Ruby finished tying the last trap, leaving small pieces of food to attract animals. She then pulled herself up a tree, high enough to not attract attention from any passing Grimm. She had run until sundown, and then set to work setting traps. Any food she could find would get her through at least a day more, and after so long, her best bet to finding the nomads was at the falls, about 100 miles from the Gate. Blake had explained the normal routes the nomads took, and when they took them, but with the expansion; the grimm have been moving. This had meant that they could be anywhere on the continent by now. Ruby prayed that Blake had been able to convince them to wait this long. It was a slim hope, but the only one she would accept. She hoped that she wouldn’t dream of them.

Classes had been hard to get through; everyone was shuffling in their seats, apprehension about the new assignments being the common theme. Apparently Weiss had been correct in her assessment of Ironwood’s plan, at least according to rumor. Oobleck had stopped talking a few minutes ago, not like anyone had been listening, and was quietly shuffling out the door. No one paid him any mind. Not long after him; Yang did the same, but with much more force. She was followed by the collective JNPR and RWBY members. They got outside just in time to see the boards update with the assignment lists; the only light coming from the abandoned hall. The list had a schedule for each student and team, RWBY was to head to the south side of the city, to help clear the area of grimm alongside Professor Goodwitch. JNPR was to split up; each to partner with an older classmate and pacify any protests.

They parted ways with only Jaune being the only one to speak.

“Good luck you guys!”

The sight they were ordered to clear was big, Blake had commented how this would take multiple days without assistance.

“I’m sure we can do it quicker then that Blake.”Goodwitch walked up from behind them, a dozen robots following uniformly behind. “We just have to make it safe enough for the workers to be able to set up a fence. After that you girls can go home.”

The next three days had passed by uneventfully, until the end of third day. It had happened during a check of a small cave system. They had split up into pairs, Ruby and Weiss, Yang and Blake. Glynda had taken the robots to keep the exit clear.

“At least it’s quiet in here.” Ruby said in a whisper.

“Those robots do make a lot of noise.”

Ruby shifted Crescent Rose to her other hand, bullets and metal making more noise then she would have liked.

“Is something there?” Weiss was ready to fight.

“No, I just… I’m okay, it was nothing.”

“Then why would you do that! There could be grimm around and we don’t need you waking them up!” Weiss’s point would have made more sense if she hadn’t been practically yelling; making much more noise than Ruby had.

“My shoulder still hurts is all, and be quiet!”

“Your shoulder can’t be hurting! You cut it like a week ago, it should be healed!”

“Well maybe my aura isn’t healing it then!”

“Why would it not!” They were both shouting now, if any grimm were here they would have done something by now.

“How should I know? Aren’t you the one who studies _SO_ hard all the time?”

“At least I can pass classes on my own!”

“That was one class! And we’re a team; we are supposed to help each other!”

“There’s a big difference between helping and pulling along!”

“How about we just calm down before Goodwitch thinks we’re all dead.” Yang and Blake stepped between them.

“They sound pretty alive to me.” Blake said.

“Ruby claims her aura isn’t working!” Weiss didn’t change her volume.

“It isn’t!” Ruby shouted back at Weiss.

“Again, quiet. Ruby, is it really not working?” Yang turned to face her sister.

“Well, erm, yes…” She blushed. It was different to say it to someone who wasn’t screaming at her.

“Then we should take a look at it. There’s nothing in the caves.” Blake grabbed her and led the team out of the cave back towards camp, explaining to Glynda on the way back to camp.

“It’s not an unheard of phenomenon, but I don’t see why this would happen to ruby.” Ruby pulled up her shirt at Blake’s command. “A few rare cases here and there but… Oh…”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SOMETHING?”

Ruby woke with a start. Her back was sore from sleeping in such an uncomfortable place, but it still felt better then the past. She had a goal, and that mattered most now.

An hour later, Ruby was on the road. She kept walking, which led to thinking. The future was still a big unknown. She had always had her life on a certain path, to follow in her mother’s footsteps, but now there was nothing left on that path but a pile of rubble. She hadn’t even been there to see her life fall apart; still hadn’t seen it. The news came from a stranger even. Her biggest regret had been inaction.

Everyone else had a reaction. Blake cried, Weiss screamed at everyone in the bar. Yang drank herself into oblivion. Even Pyhrra cried, much later, when  she finally broke down in front of Ruby.

“He was there! He was there and now I’ll never even get to finish grieving.” Ruby had tried to understand, but she wasn’t at beacon for that. Only Pyhrra, Ren, and Nora were there. She never told Pyhrra what really happened. She couldn’t bring herself to relive it more than a few times.

Her feet hurt, but she kept moving.

_It’s_ “Only seventy more” _Miles._ She was talking to herself. The inner monologue had started again.

They had been on their way back from the newly cleared “Safe Zone” when they flew over a large protest. Things had gotten out of hand, people were fighting back against the police, and it was quickly becoming a riot. Ruby couldn’t sit back and watch people hurt themselves. She jumped down into the crowd, shoulder be damned. The others might have been behind, but she wouldn’t have noticed. A few people had forced everyone off the stage and had a small figure on her knees. They kept shouting, more for the crowd more than at their captive really.

“You think you understand this _human_ problem, you animal? You don’t get to fucking tell us what to do. We will not be calm!”

“You think you understand?! You think you understand why we’re fighting back? Let me show you what it’s really like to be human!” The second man yanked up the small person’s head. It was Velvet. She was bruised and beaten, with cuts along her face. The man pulled out a knife and…

Ruby had been at the front of the group by now. The blood had hit her face as he threw the ears over her head. The crowd was cheering. Velvet’s face hit the wooden floor of the stage and she just lay there; twitching.

She heard Jaune scream once. The monsters shifted again, pulsating towards a point twenty feet away. She might have been screaming with him the whole time, but she only remembered one sentence. Spoke brokenly; in-between sobs.

“We were only gone a week…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun to write! Breaking characters is the best.   
> I would love feedback!

**Author's Note:**

> I would love any feedback or suggestions that you have, this is the my first fic and hopefully we can make it a series of indeterminate length.


End file.
